The journey of Mamelodi Sundowns’ defence of their Nedbank Cup trophy starts with a tricky tie against Stellenbosch. The fixture will be one of four seeing DStv Premiership teams going head-to-head.

Others include a KwaZulu-Natal derby between AmaZulu and Golden Arrows, Cape Town City taking on Bloemfontein Celtic, and SuperSport United versus Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila (TTM).

Despite the two top flight sides having starkly contrasting targets for the season, and separated by a mammoth 18 points on the league table, cup games are about who is on song on that specific day.

As such, Sundowns co-coach Rulani Mokwena says his side will not take their opponents lightly. This is despite the Capetonians being winless in their last three games.  

“We know that they’ll be difficult to break down because of the formation they play and we’ll have to work extremely hard. We would have preferred a weaker side in the first round but we are up against a strong side, a PSL (Premier Soccer League) side who use the players they have to their strengths. We have no room for complacency,” said Mokwena.

Having commenced late due to Covid-19, the current season is already congested, and fixtures are already coming thick and fast for all teams. However, bigger teams like Masandawana and Orlando Pirates have the luxury of better managing their squads to minimise fatigue and injury.

For a team like Stellenbosch, working with limited resources in their matchup against Sundowns, they will clearly be the David seeking to knock down Goliath.

The coach of Stellies, Steve Barker believes their underdog tag can help them in the encounter.

“We have nothing to lose and everything to gain in the cup match. The beauty about the Nedbank Cup is that it offers you a chance to pull off a giant-killing act. We have to be positive against a quality team with great players. Not many people expect us to get a result, and the pressure is not on us, but Sundowns,” said Barker.

The fixture is scheduled for 17:00 on Wednesday, 3 February.

Mamelodi Sundowns winners during the Nedbank Cup final match Bloemfontein Celtic and Mamelodi Sundowns at Orlando Stadium on September 12, 2020 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo by Samuel Shivambu/Backpage Pix/Gallo Images)

The spear vs the arrow

KZN sides AmaZulu and Arrows will be the other all-Premiership tie in the cup. The two sides last met in mid-December, where Abafana Besthende were 2-0 victors over their neighbours.

That encounter was AmaZulu coach Benni McCarthy’s first match at the helm and he will be out for revenge over Mandla Ncikazi, who has done a sterling job at Arrows this season, ably assisted by Mabhuti Khenyeza.

Arrows are soaring high in this campaign, having only lost once in their 13 league games to date.

“We had the analysis of last season. We tried to find balance between conceding less while we work on the attack. But I must also note that Mabhuti, being a former striker, is contributing a lot in trying to improve the team in front of goals,’’ said Ncikazi on his partnership with Khenyeza recently.

Whereas the Sundowns and Stellenbosch match has a clear favourite as well as an underdog, the clash between the KZN coastal sides will be a more evenly balanced affair.

Before the weekend fixture, Usuthu have to navigate a midweek league match with Bloemfontein Celtic, while Arrows face a tough encounter with Pirates.

Lockdown pains

As mentioned by the Stellenbosch coach earlier, the Nedbank Cup is a perfect stage for the underdog to shine.

From recent memory, TS Galaxy’s Cinderella story of how they, while still campaigning in the GladAfrica Championship, went all the way to win the trophy in 2019 springs to mind. Pocketing a cool R7-million in the process.

The competition is also a platform for teams in the lower tiers of South African football to showcase their talent, with the hope of landing professional contracts.

This season though, there has been a slight change as there will be no teams from the third-tier league, the ABC Motsepe League, as well as other structures below that. It will consist of 16 Premiership teams and 16 GladAfrica teams.

This is because all activity in the league structures below the second division, which are overseen by the South African Football Association (Safa), is currently suspended as they fall under amateur sport. Non-professional sport is still barred under Level 3 lockdown restrictions.

Another factor, of course, is how non-Premiership sides would revel at the prospect of playing teams in the top flight in front of the latter’s support base.

However, for teams like Uthongathi and Richards Bay United, who will face Pirates and Chiefs respectively on the weekend, they will not experience this as games continue to be played in empty stadiums.

However, the hunger and desire to be giant slayers and make a name for themselves will still be bubbling like a volcano, and ready to erupt at any moment. DM